If you’re interested in the field of counseling or you’re considering a master’s degree in counseling online, you may need to be prepared for the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE).
This exam is required in ten states: California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, and Virginia. Several other states allow a choice between the NCMHCE and the National Counselor Examination (NCE).
For students looking to counsel in one of these states, the NCMHCE is one of the final steps to becoming a licensed mental health counselor. Although this hurdle may seem daunting, proper study and training can help you succeed. This exam will test your knowledge, from your education to your hands-on experience. Those who pass the test can offer professional services to those in need. Read on to learn how the NCMHCE test works, an overview of the content, and helpful tips for success.
How the NCMHCE Test Works
The NCMHCE focuses on a series of simulations designed to replicate real-life client situations in practice. This exam measures problem-solving abilities, including identifying, analyzing, diagnosing, and treating clinical mental health problems.
The exam consists of ten clinical mental health counseling cases. Each case is divided into five to eight sections, classified as either information gathering or decision-making. During the exam, students are provided with the scenario, including the setting, client information, and the problem they present. The student must attempt to identify solutions.
Each problem has a given parameter for what is right or wrong, and those point totals are tallied. Each section has a minimum pass level, and all those totals are then tallied. The total raw score on the entire examination then determines whether a student passes or fails.
Content of the Exam
In the five to eight sections of each simulation, you will be tested on information-gathering or decision-making skills. Information-gathering sections measure the ability to collect the clinical data needed to evaluate a situation. Decision-making sections assess the test taker’s ability to solve clinical problems by using data to make judgments and decisions.
Assessment and Diagnosis
The assessment and diagnosis content area measures how well the candidate understands a client’s feelings and can identify their causes and effects. NCMHCE test takers must be able to integrate their observations of the client from a scenario with the client’s own assessment of their condition. Symptoms will be given, and precipitating problems will be involved.
Counseling and Psychotherapy
After diagnosing the issue, test takers are presented with a simulation that involves counseling and offering potential psychotherapy. The test will measure how candidates inform the client about ethical standards and practices. It will also test the ability to clarify the counselor’s role in creating and implementing a treatment plan.
Administration, Consultation, and Supervision
Test takers will have to identify how they intend to follow through with treatment plans. This includes maintaining case notes, records, and files. The test will also cover measuring the effects of the services on a client’s needs, including how to maintain professional communication with clients and how to assist them with alternative services.
Because the NCMHCE exam is so unique, it is helpful to understand what a typical question looks like. The National Board of Certified Counselors offers NCMHCE resources for students looking to better understand what an exam is like.
Tips for NCMHCE Exam Success
The NCMHCE exam requires an intensive preparation approach. This exam requires far more application than fact recall and thus will demand a deeper understanding of the content. Here are a few tips to help you study for and take the exam.
Think Like a Counselor
The simulation-style format of the NCMHCE is designed to make test takers think like a mental health counselor, so it’s essential to recall the experience of actually working with clients. Keep in mind that the test is measuring ideal questions and treatments, even if those might not be appropriate or applicable in some real-world situations.
Take Only the Information Needed
In a real practice situation, a counselor may ask clients far more than the test suggests, but that is not necessary during the exam. Consider whether the requested information is actually beneficial and whether it will narrow the diagnosis.
Guessing Wrong Has Consequences
Choosing an answer, even when not confident it is correct, can be detrimental on the NCMHCE. Incorrect selections can cost up to three points. However, this does not apply to the diagnosis questions; candidates are encouraged to ask as many questions as needed to obtain the best diagnoses before proceeding to the treatment questions.
Keep Good Study Habits
Although the test is unusually formatted and extremely rigorous, many typical good study habits still apply. Taking practice tests and joining study groups can help prepare, and taking plenty of time during the test is critical. Finally, understand that failure is not the end; many people have to take the test two or three times before succeeding.
Get a Master’s Degree in Counseling Online
Although the NCMHCE is a challenging exam, you can take a master’s degree in counseling online that is designed to help you pass it. At Grace College Online, our Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and it’s designed to help students learn the skills needed to become an exceptional mental health counselor and to pass the NCMHCE.
A master’s degree in counseling online at Grace College will explore psychology and the social sciences. As you consider an array of online colleges for Clinical Mental Health Counseling near you in the Midwest, be assured that when you find your way to Grace, you will discover an accredited online college for your professional counseling degree, taught from a biblical worldview. A Grace master’s degree in counseling online will help you make workable connections between behavior and relationships, preparing you to weigh questions and create conversation in a Christian college online context.
Are you interested in a program that will equip you to pass the NCMHCE exam? Check out Grace’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program today!
